The
Barley Bride Ripens First and Calls
the Wheat in the Midnight Cry
Loud
Cry
The
writer of the follow study on barley does not understand the truth of the
difference between the first and second resurrection—that all of the righteous
are taken to heaven at the first resurrection. He thinks the righteous dead are
raised after the millennium. That is not true. Paul says the dead in Christ are
raised first and then we which are alive and remain are caught up together with
them—all before the millennium.
1Th
4:17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.
Nor
does that writer understand regeneration of Philadelphia, the bride, who is
made pillars in the Temple and is kept from the time of trouble to come upon
the entire world, Rev. 3:10-12, and how she is translated without seeing death.
But the part on barley is priceless. All critics of regeneration are left clueless
as to how the original church of Philadelphia, circa A.D. 1, including the
disciples of Christ, are kept through the time of trouble and translated
without seeing death at the end-time per. Rev. 3:10-12. Remember that the
disciples are referred to as Christ’s bride in Desire of Ages, 179. To be around to give the final Loud Cry as part
of the voice of the bride of all generations, they must be alive in the last
generation. Reincarnation is Satan’s counterfeit of regeneration. So ignore the
parts on the resurrection which are errant, but the parts of this article on
barley as the firstfruits grain is very important.
Chapter 2
The Barley Harvest
http://www.gods-kingdom-ministries.org/barley/chap2.htm
Each of the
three main feast days of Israel, which we have already discussed briefly, are
associated with different harvests. The barley ripens first around the time of
Passover; the wheat ripens later around the time of Pentecost; and the grapes
ripen last just prior to the feast of Tabernacles.
These three
crops depict three classes of people, as we will show soon. The barley
represents the overcomer; the wheat represents the Church; and the grapes
represent the unbelievers. There is a profound revelation in each of these
crops, but our present study will focus on just the first one, barley.
The Barley Wave-Sheaf Offering
The wave-sheaf
offering shortly after Passover was the first fruits of the barley that the
priest offered to God in the early spring. It was always waved “on the day
after the Sabbath” after Passover (Lev. 23:11). This day is sometimes
called the feast of the first fruits or the counting of the omer.
Barley was the
first crop to ripen in the spring in Canaan and Egypt. In fact, the Hebrew
month of Abib (“green ears”) has direct reference to the ripening of barley in
that month. On the first day of that month, the priest would inspect a sheaf of
barley to see if it had “eared out” yet. If so, it was announced to all the
people that Passover would be observed in Jerusalem two weeks later. If the barley
grain was still closed, with the grain covered by the husk, the priest would
announce that they would have to wait another month before Passover could be
observed lawfully.
In such a case,
a thirteenth month would be added to the previous year, rather than starting
the new year with that month. Lunar months are only 29 1/2 days long, so 12
lunar months only covered 354 days. Thus, in order to keep pace with the
seasons and the solar cycles, the Hebrews would add a reset month every two or
three years. The earing of the barley determined whether that month was to be a
13th “reset” month or the first month of the new year.
This was also
important, because it retained the symbolism of Israel’s feast days. Passover
signified the death of the lamb and had prophetic reference to the
crucifixion of Jesus. The wave-sheaf offering signified resurrection
from the dead, for on this day Jesus was raised. Thus, the people could not
lawfully observe the Passover unless the barley was eared out, for this
signified newness of life.
Jesus presented
Himself before His Father in the heavenly Temple at the time the priest waved
the barley sheaf in the earthly temple. The waving motion, up and down,
signified resurrection. Though Jesus had actually been raised from the dead “very
early in the morning” (Luke 24:1), He did not allow Mary to touch Him prior to
the wave-sheaf offering (John 20:17). Not until the wave-sheaf offering was
Jesus declared legally alive in the court of heaven.
When God was
dealing with Pharaoh to allow Israel to leave, He sent ten plagues upon Egypt.
The seventh plague was that of hail, which destroyed the barley and flax, but
not the wheat and spelt. (This took place just prior to the Passover, which
took place with the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn.) We read in
Ex. 9:31, 32.
31 Now the flax
and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in
bud. 32 But the wheat
and the spelt were not ruined; for they ripen late.
The barley was
ripe and eared out just prior to that first Passover. But the wheat was not yet
ripe.
We see another
example of this forty years later, when Israel was ready to cross the Jordan.
Joshua sent two spies to Jericho. It was the time of Passover (Joshua 5:10),
and Rahab hid the spies under stalks of flax (Joshua 2:6). Flax ripened at the
same time as barley, as we saw from Ex. 9:31. Linen comes from flax. It was
used to make priestly garments, and in Rev. 19:8 we see that “fine linen is
the righteousness of saints.”
The week after
Passover is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The people were required
to remove all leaven from their houses for a full seven days. Leaven is
symbolic of sin; thus, removing the leavened bread depicts the removal of all
sin from one’s house (body). This is the same symbolism as we find in flax, for
to be clothed in flax (linen) is to depict putting on the righteousness of
Christ. So all of these things work together, woven into a complete picture of
the plan of God for Christ and the overcoming body. The body of Christ (the
overcomers) who are identified with their Head will soon follow Him in the
first resurrection.
We have already
dealt with Israel’s three feast days and their significance on the personal
level. They represent the three stages of salvation from justification to
sanctification to glorification. It is now time to view the feast days from a
much broader perspective. These feast days reveal the nature and scope of the
resurrections from the dead. Each crop represents a different class of people.
The barley, which ripens first, represents the overcomers of the first
resurrection; the wheat, which ripens at Pentecost, represents the rest of the
Church (i.e., believers in general); and the grapes, which are trodden down at
the end of the growing season represent the unbelievers who are judged
according to their works.
In this present
study we will limit our focus to the barley company, showing the revelation God
has given in this first “harvest of souls” called by John the first
resurrection. This is the first of “three times in the year” when all the males
were to appear before God’s throne in Jerusalem (Ex. 34:23).
The Hebrew word
for barley is sehoraw. Strong’s Concordance says that the feminine form
means “plant,” and the masculine form means “grain.” There is another word for
grain as well, and this Hebrew word sheds much light on the symbolic meaning of
barley. It is the Hebrew word bar. In Gen. 41:35 and 49 we read that
Joseph gathered grain in preparation for the coming famine. The King James
Version translates it “corn,” but this was not corn in the modern sense of the
word, for Egypt did not grow corn. Corn is an old English word for grain in
general, but in modern times the word has acquired a more specific definition
and refers to a specific grain.
The Hebrew
word, bar, or “grain,” may possibly be the root of our modern word for
barley. But bar also has some other meanings. It means a SON, in the
sense of an heir. For example, Barabbas (John 18:40) means “son of the father,”
and Barnabas means “son of consolation” (Acts 4:36). Barley thus signifies the
overcomers, who are known also as the “sons of God.” This term is used of
Israel in Hosea 1:10, because the prophet pictures Israel as being seed
scattered in the field (the world), who ultimately would bring forth a great
harvest of sons. In John 1:12 we read,
12 But as
many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become the
children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
Again, we read in Rom. 8:14,
14 For all
who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. . . 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ . . . 19 For
the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the
sons of God.
Paul says that
the sons of God are also heirs of God. Paul was referring to the fact that the
Hebrew word, bar, means both a son and an heir. Romans 8 was Paul’s
introduction to his Israel chapters (Rom. 9-11). He tells us the way Hosea’s
prophecy will be fulfilled is only through Jesus Christ. Israel had been
divorced (Jer. 3:8) and sent out of His house from 745-721 B.C. God had even
stripped her of the birthright name, “Israel.”
Those
ex-Israelites never returned to the old land, as did the Jews from the southern
kingdom. The only way that those lost Israelites could ever be reinstated in
the Kingdom of God was through Jesus Christ. Paul says that they had to be led
by the Spirit of God in order to be the sons of God and fellow heirs with
Christ.
Further, the
word, bar, also means “a field” in the Chaldean language used in Daniel
2 and 4. It is number 1251 in Strong’s Concordance. The connection between a
field and the grain that grows in the field is obvious.
The first
Scripture relevant to any study of barley is Leviticus 27:16. It reads,
16 Again, if a man
consecrates to the Lord part of the fields of his own property, then your
valuation shall be proportionate to the seed needed for it; a homer of barley
seed at fifty shekels of silver.
The value of a
homer of barley in the eyes of God is fifty shekels of silver. Fifty is the
number of Pentecost and Jubilee. Pentecost was to be celebrated on the 50th day;
Jubilee is the 50th year. Both are revelations of the outpouring of the
Spirit of God. Pentecost is the time when the earnest of the Spirit was poured
out (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 1:22 and 5:5). The Jubilee signifies a greater
outpouring, that is, the fullness (pleroma) of the Spirit. Paul prayed
to be “filled with all the fullness (pleroma) of God”
(Eph. 3:19).
Thus, while
Pentecost is a downpayment of a Jubilee, or the promise of a Jubilee, both are
depicted by the number 50. The barley is valued at 50 shekels of silver, and
this associates the barley with the outpouring of the Spirit, both in its
earnest and its fullness.
This is
consistent with the revelation of the overcomers who attain to the first
resurrection or—if they are alive at the end of the age—their “change”
(transfiguration) without dying. It is also consistent with the revelation of
the “unleavened bread” at Passover and the flax (white linen) ripening at the
same time, which is used in the priestly garments.
All of these
details point to the fact that the barley company is the first to be raised of
all of God’s creatures. James 1:18 says,
18 In the exercise
of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as
it were, the first fruits among His creatures [“creation”].
In the book of
Revelation, we are told of the 144,000 who sing a new song before the throne of
God. In Rev. 14:4 these are called “the first fruits unto God and to the
Lamb.” First fruits imply that a greater harvest is yet to come. Even as
Jesus was “the First fruits of them that slept” (1 Cor. 15:20), so also are the
overcomers of the first resurrection (the “144,000” of Rev. 14) the first
fruits of others yet to come. The first fruits offering always signaled the
beginning (not the end) of the harvest.
Paul alluded to
the law of first fruits again in Rom. 11:16 (KJV), saying,
16 For if
the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are
the branches.
The first
fruits always sanctified the harvest. When the first fruits of a crop, whether
barley or wheat, were offered to God, then the people could go home and harvest
the rest of that crop. For this reason, James tells us that the Church is the
first fruits of creation. When the Church is “harvested” and brought into God’s
house, it is not the end of the world, but the beginning of a greater harvest.
Likewise, the
overcomers are the first fruits of the Church. They are the “first of the first
fruits” (Ex. 23:19), that is, the barley first fruits that were offered shortly
after the feast of Passover. These are the ones who inherit the first
resurrection. Rev. 20:6 says,
6 . . .
they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a
thousand years.
The rest of the
dead, both unbelievers and the rest of the believers, will not be raised until
the thousand years is finished. Then all of the dead, small and great, will be
raised. At that time, the non-overcoming believers will receive LIFE, while the
unbelievers will received JUDGMENT, as Jesus said in John 5:28, 29,
28 Do not
marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which ALL who are in the tombs shall
hear His voice, 29 and
come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of LIFE, those who
committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of JUDGMENT.
It is apparent from Jesus’ statement that the
resurrection at the Great White Throne will include believers that will be
given life, or immortality, as well as the unbelievers that will be judged.
This is why we ought to strive to attain “a better resurrection” (Heb.
11:35). The first resurrection is the better resurrection. Those who attain the
better resurrection are those who will rule and reign with Christ during the
thousand years of the Tabernacles Age.” End of Link.
Now notice Ellen White’s statement that the
voice of God and the voice of the bride awaken all ten virgins. In order for
the bride to be able to do this, she must have awakened (ripened) first as the
Barley bride, the firstfruits wave sheaf.
Christ with His disciples is seated upon
the Mount of Olives. The sun has set behind the mountains, and the heavens are
curtained with the shades of evening. In full view is a dwelling house lighted
up brilliantly as if for some festive scene. The light streams from the
openings, and an expectant company wait around, indicating that a marriage
procession is soon to appear. In many parts of the East, wedding festivities
are held in the evening. The bridegroom goes forth to meet his bride and bring
her to his home. By torchlight the bridal party proceed from her father's house
to his own, where a feast is provided for the invited guests. In the scene upon
which Christ looks, a company are awaiting the appearance of the bridal party,
intending to join the procession.
Lingering near the bride's house are ten
young women robed in white. Each carries a lighted lamp and a small flagon for
oil. All are anxiously watching for the appearance
of
the bridegroom. But there is a delay. Hour after hour passes; the watchers
become weary and fall asleep. At midnight the cry is heard, "Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." The sleepers, suddenly awaking,
spring to their feet. They see the procession moving on, bright with torches
and glad with music. They hear the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of
the bride. The ten maidens seize their lamps and begin to trim them,
in haste to go forth. But five have neglected to fill their flasks with oil.
They did not anticipate so long a delay, and they have not prepared for the
emergency. In distress they appeal to their wiser companions saying, "Give
us of your oil; for our lamps are going out." (Margin.) But the waiting
five, with their freshly trimmed lamps, have emptied their flagons. They have
no oil to spare, and they answer, "Not so; lest there be not enough for us
and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves."
While they went to buy, the procession
moved on, and left them behind. The five with lighted lamps joined the throng
and entered the house with the bridal train, and the door was shut. When the
foolish virgins reached the banqueting hall, they received an unexpected
denial. The master of the feast declared, "I know you not." They were
left standing without, in the empty street, in the blackness of the night.
As Christ sat looking upon the party that
waited for the bridegroom, He told His disciples the story of the ten virgins,
by their experience illustrating the experience of the church that shall live
just before His second coming.
The two classes of watchers represent the
two classes who profess to be waiting for their Lord. They are called virgins
because they profess a pure faith. By the lamps is represented the word of God.
The psalmist says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto may
path." Christ’s Object Lessons, pp.
405-406.
Thus, the Barley bride is the 144,000; the
True Reformers, who restore what has
been breached by building up the old waste places that have been torn down by
new movement Adventism. Who is it that calls them FIRST, as the disciples were
called FIRST? It is God. They are prepared and ripened first. They raise the
true foundations of many generations. They are direct living representatives of
the foundations of many generations. They are the bride of all generations as
the disciples were the bride in their day, Desire
of Ages, 179.
"Characteristics
of True Reformers.--Here are given the characteristics of those who shall be reformers, who
will bear the banner of the third angel's message, those who avow themselves
God's commandment-keeping people, and who honor God, and are earnestly engaged,
in the sight of all the universe, in building up the old waste places. Who is
it that calls them, The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to
dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered [written--Heb. 12:22, 23] in
heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising the foundations of many
generations." E. G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1151.
—rwb